Joey Magidson
It was only a matter of time before Guillermo del Toro tackled Frankenstein. In some ways, his whole career has been building up to this moment. The filmmaker just always been a fit for the material, which has been thematically in his work over the years. So, having him actually done it is a bit of an occasion. His version of the monster tale has all of his trademarks, which in some ways makes it the most del Toro movie to date. Playing as a surprise screening at the Telluride Film Festival, it closed out my fest on a stylish note.
Frankenstein is technically sumptuous, as you might expect. The beauty of the grotesque is done up here in a way that’s absolutely stunning. If it doesn’t necessarily feel like del Toro has something particularly new to say about Mary Shelley‘s tale, it also feels like it was a flick he 100% needed to make. So, seeing the fruits of those labors is something to behold.
The film is broken down into a prelude and two sections, which have the distinctive perspective and titles Victor’s Tale and The Creature’s Tale. At the start, Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) is found near death in the arctic by a ship and its crew. Brought aboard by the captain, it soon becomes clear that he wasn’t alone on the ice, as The Monster (Jacob Elordi) is in pursuit. The men are no match for him, though they stave his attack off long enough for Victor to begin telling the story of how he got there.
Flashing back, we see his unhappy childhood, as well as his time experiencing mild success in reanimating dead tissue. It’s that work which wealthy Heinrich Harlander (Christophe Waltz) is attracted to, financing his ultimate goal of bringing the dead back to life. While Harlander pays for it all, Victor’s brother William (Felix Kammerer) arrives on the scene, engaged to Heinrich’s niece Elizabeth (Mia Goth). Victor is smitten, though still pursues his ultimate creation, using executed men and fallen soldiers from the Crimean War. Eventually, he succeeds, though has no idea exactly what he’s done. When The Monster takes over telling the story, we find just exactly how cruel this scientific experiment really is.
Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi anchor the flick. Isaac gets to really go at it playing a madman, mostly leaning into his darker impulses and instincts. He’s going big, which is fun to see. Elordi, on the other hand, gives a complex and deeply physical performance. You buy the evolution of The Monster over time. Even just his initial movements are super well done, though when he’s a more complex figure, he gets to shine. Mia Goth is the emotional quotient to the film, especially when she encounters Elordi and reacts far differently than everyone else has so far. Christoph Waltz, on the other hand, is mostly doing his usual thing. It’s solid work, just without much new to be seen. In addition to Felix Kammerer, the large supporting cast includes David Bradley, Christian Convery, Charles Dance, Burn Gorman, Ralph Ineson, Lars Mikkelsen, and more.
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has finally made his passion project, so it’s no surprise the care put into it. The look and tactile feel of things is superb, with cinematographer Dan Lausten crafting some memorable visuals. The score by Alexandre Desplat is reliably excellent as well. On a technical level, del Toro’s direction, as well as the overall craftsmanship on display, is top notch. His screenplay, adapting the classic novel, is solid, yet lacks in too many new ideas. This is Frankenstein alright, just done through del Toro’s unique lens, which ends up being mostly in regards to scope, size, and visual language. It’s also probably the goriest and most violent take yet, which makes sense given del Toro at the helm.
Frankenstein didn’t blow me away, to be fair, but it did entertain me more than I expected. The opening prelude is terrific, while the goriest moments are actually quite fun. The back end of the movie drags a bit, though once we get Elordi to compliment Isaac, things pick up. As a surprise Telluride inclusion, it’s a very different flavor to the festival, though hardly an unwelcome one.
SCORE: ★★★
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